At a Glance - Week of December 4, 2024
Sovereignty Act Motion Filed
Earlier in November the Government of Canada announced new regulations limiting the amount of total pollution that is emitted from the oil and gas sector. Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, paraphrased the policy stating: “We are asking oil and gas companies who have made record profits in recent years to reinvest some of that money into technology that will reduce pollution in the oil and gas sector and create jobs for Canadian workers and businesses.”
In response, the Government of Alberta announced that it would enact the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act to avoid following the federal regulations. Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Rebecca Schulz, responded: “This cap is not actually about emissions. This is about the federal government wanting to cut oil and gas production and control our energy sector, even if it costs thousands of jobs and hurts Canadians from coast to coast. We are standing up for our province and protecting Albertans from this extreme federal overreach.”
Railway Strategy Consultations Begin
In the process of developing a Passenger Rail Master Plan for Alberta, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen announced the beginning of public consultations.
“Feedback from Albertans, Alberta municipalities, Indigenous communities and industry will be critically important to developing passenger rail services in Alberta. I encourage all Albertans to complete the online survey to help inform a shared vision for passenger rail to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and connectivity across the province.”
In addition, the province expects passenger rail services to be coordinated through a new centralized crown corporation similar in mandate to Ontario’s Metrolinx.
Funding Cut to Municipal Region Boards
Both the Edmonton Metropolitan Regional Board (EMRB) and the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board (CMRB) have been informed that the Government of Alberta will no longer be providing $1 million in annual support to each organization. Both the EMRB and CMRB are tasked with coordinating long-term social, environmental, and economic development between member municipalities.
Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver defended the funding reversal: “When the metropolitan region boards were established, they were always intended to be self-funding and that is why funding has always been single year.” Additionally, board membership for municipalities surrounding the province’s two largest cities will now be optional, rather than compulsory.
Alberta’s United States Strategy Discussed
In response to the election victory of Donald Trump earlier in November, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced a series of initiatives to shore up existing diplomatic and economic ties with the United States of America.
Regarding Alberta’s oil and gas exports, Smith emphasized the need to change the “risk profile” of the province’s strategically important industry. “We're looking to make connections with the United States, to see their appetite for assisting in helping to get more product going into the United States,” she stated at a Monday press conference. Attracting American energy partners was also floated as a potential solution to shoring up American interests in continuing energy exports from Alberta.
In response to threats of a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian exports to America, Smith stated: “Alberta will be acting urgently and decisively to patrol our own shared border with Montana.” Additionally, she called for the federal government to direct two per cent of the nation's GDP towards meeting NATO defence spending targets.